John 6:27

Ver. 27. “ Work to obtain, not the food which perishes, but the food which endures to eternal life, that which the Son of man shall give unto you; for him hath the Father, God, sealed. ”

Behold now the true way in which Jesus would be sought. It follows, indeed, from the contrast between ἐργάζεσθε, work, and ζητεῖτε, you seek me (John 6:26), that the work to which He exhorts His hearers is none other than the seeking for His person with a spiritual aim. The repast of the preceding evening had sustained them for that day. But, when the morning came, were they not obliged to eat again? That bread, miraculous as it was, had, thus, been only a temporary nourishment. What purpose would the renewal of a similar gift on this day have served? To this transient food Jesus opposes that which abides inherent in the human person as a permanent principle of life and action. The term ἐργάζεσθαι, to work, signifies here: to obtain by one's labor (see the examples drawn from classical Greek, in Meyer). The words: unto eternal life, designate either the effect immediately produced (Reuss) or the final limit (even to); see at John 4:14.

The future, shall give. is certainly the true reading; it is designed to raise the minds of the hearers to the nourishment of a higher nature which Jesus brings to the world, and of which the multiplied loaves were only the type and promise. This notion of giving seems at the first glance in contradiction to the order to work (ἐργάζεσθε). But the work by which man procures for himself this truly life-giving food does not consist in creating it, but in making himself fit to receive it, by believing on the divine messenger who brings it to him. The human work would remain useless, without the divine gift, as also the divine gift remains inefficacious without the internal work by means of which the man appropriates it to himself. The name Son of man is also in connection with the thought developed afterwards, that Jesus is Himself this celestial food; for if it is placed within the reach of faith, it is by virtue of the incarnation (John 6:33; John 6:38; John 6:50; John 6:58). The for relates to the word will give. Jesus is sealed, that is, personally pointed out to the world by His miracles in general, and more particularly by that of the preceding day, as the one who brings this life-giving bread to the earth and who gives it. This is the explanation, given by Jesus Himself, of the term signs. His miracles are the authentic signs of the salvation with which He is intrusted, in its different aspects. The word ὁ θεός, God, is placed at the end of the sentence to set forth distinctly the person of Him who, as possessor of supreme authority, has alone the power and the right to give such certifications.

The first dialogue has contrasted and characterized in an altogether general way the two kinds of good which may be sought from Jesus.